7 Nobel Laureates Among 64 Public Figures Calling for Arms Embargo Against Israel

Sixty-four public figures, including seven Nobel Peace Prize winners, published a letter in the British Guardian newspaper calling for an international arms embargo on Israel for its ‘war crimes and possible crimes against humanity’ in Gaza. The letter reads as follows:

‘Israel has once again unleashed the full force of its military against the captive Palestinian population, particularly in the besieged Gaza Strip, in an inhumane and illegal act of military aggression. Israel’s ability to launch such devastating attacks with impunity largely stems from the vast international military cooperation and trade that it maintains with complicit governments across the world,’ read the statement.

â€śIsrael’s military technology is marketed as ‘field-tested’ and exported across the world. Military trade and joint military-related research relations with Israel embolden Israeli impunity in committing grave violations of international law and facilitate the entrenchment of Israel’s system of occupation, colonisation and systematic denial of Palestinian rights.â€ť

‘We call on the UN and governments across the world to take immediate steps to implement a comprehensive and legally binding military embargo on Israel, similar to that imposed on South Africa during apartheid,’ the letter concluded.

Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa was one of the signatories. He was a major opponent of apartheid practices in South Africa, and has compared Israeli policies toward Palestinians with those of the South African government under the racist apartheid system.